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Sewn: Vogue 8904

Hello again all! And welcome to new readers, I hope you like grey!

A few years ago, I tried on this dress. It was something like $268, and beige, but I almost bought it because the fit was amazing. I felt like a million dollars. Well, except for the beige part. So when Vogue Patterns released 8904, by Marcy Tilton, I snapped it up. And then waited and waited to find the right fabric. I find that fabric shopping is the hardest part of sewing the wardrobe of my dreams sometimes, don't you?

At any rate, there was a scant 2 metres of this fun grey (I know, I know), subtly striped knit on a Fabricland remnant table this winter, and I knew it would be great for this pattern. There was not really enough, and I had to cut a few corners, but I did make it in the end.

And yes, this is my current favourite necklace. You'll be seeing it again.

Pattern Review has loads to say about this pattern, it was one of their top picks for 2013, so head over and check it out if you need more details. Yes, I made a couple of changes. I shortened the base layer above the waist by 1" (there isn't a lengthen/shorten line, I marked a line 2" above the waist and used that). I didn't need to alter the top layers, they still fit on nicely. I cut the bottom piece with the stripes running horizontally, to mimic the original dress, and altered the pattern sleeves to a cap sleeve. The sleeves are still a bit fluttery, but they are ok. And after looking over the instructions, I did my own thing. The first step was too machine baste around every tier piece - unnecessary.

Sneaky lengthening piece. And side seam matching!

Oh, and since I didn't have enough fabric for the longer version (View A is short!), I cheated and stitched the lowest tier to the inside of the base layer for extra length. That way if the skirt layers flipped up, you would see a stitch line, but not the edge of the lowest tier. Not ideal, but better than not wearable. You can see a lot of wrinkling and puckering in the photos, but a lot of that is not visible in real life. Still, I think this dress does need to be fitted to work well, like the inspiration dress.

Instead of a neck binding, I just stitched the two layers together at the neck, incorporating some clear elastic for stability, and flipped the outside layer to the right side before basting it to the base layer at the side seams. It made for a super clean finish, which I topstitched using a zig zag.

The bad news about this dress is the fabric. If you look at it the wrong way, it pills, and the raw edges are starting to fray! I would love to make this dress again, so I'm keeping an eye out for something amazing.

Hmm. Perhaps some swayback alteration next time?

Marcy Tilton does have her own online fabric shop, but with the current exchange rate, and shipping & duty, that's just not an option right now. Check out those stripes! But when I find some more suitable fabric, I will be trying this dress again.

Comments

What a wonderful dress! I'm not certain if you have the correct link in your first full paragraph--the link for "this dress" is connecting to a Butterick pattern. This doesn't appear to match your description. thank you for sharing!

I'll have to try the razor trick - I really wanted this dress to work long term, but short term love is better than no love at all. And don't worry, there may be more grey before long. Though I do have some slightly more colourful makes to document, as well!